Stackabones

BIOGRAPHY

Formed in Austin, TX, by Jim Brighton and Butch Zito, Stackabones was a fixture on the Austin music scene in the mid-'80s. The band found its way into Deadhead circles when its first single was played in between sets at a Grateful Dead show. Shortly thereafter, the band went into the studio with pedal steel hero and former New Rider Bobby Black to record their first album for Relix Records.

Fast forward two decades later and the band is still going strong. The band's strength remains its songwriting, penned by both Brighton, Zito and multi-instrumentalist Scott Cooper. Whereas other jam bands and musical moons in the jam band genre focus on instrumental jamming at the expense of the Almighty Song, Stackabones writes strong songs that can stand on their own, but Brighton's tasty Garcia-tinged guitar solos and exploratory passages feed the best of both worlds. The band released a second CD in 1996, titled Cathy Ann, on the small California label Sailcat Records, followed by the heralded acoustic-based "This Ribbon of Highway" in 2000.

The band's latest release, "The Wax Still Drips" was released in 2011 on the Yellow Sound Label. Featuring George Marsh (David Grisman Quintet) on drums and Howard Wales (Jerry Garcia) on keyboards, the release shows that Stackabones continues to forge their place in the annals of the jam band genre.